‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah

21. Hadith Al-Istislam, Investigating Its Authenticity ======================================================

Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) admits that Amir al-Muminin, ‘alaihi al-salam, was the first human being ever to accept Islam from the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi:

Then, in it (i.e. the report) is the statement “’Ali performed Salat six months before anyone else”, this (statement) is one which is known to be necessarily fallacious, because between his (‘Ali’s) acceptance of Islam and the acceptance of Islam by Zayd, Abu Bakr and Khadijah was only a distance of one day or a period like that. So, how did he perform Salat six months before anyone else?[^1]

So, ‘Ali accepted Islam one whole day before Khadijah, Zayd and Abu Bakr. But then, our dear Shaykh has a surprise package for us:

The claim that ‘Ali was the first to perform Salat with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is impossible. Rather, the majority of the people hold a contrary view, and believe that Abu Bakr perform Salat before him (i.e. ‘Ali).[^2]

One wonders. Since Amir al-Muminin accepted Islam before Abu Bakr, how come the latter offered Salat before him? Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah attempts to solve the puzzle:

The people disagreed about who accepted Islam first. It is said that Abu Bakr was the first to accept Islam, and therefore accepted Islam before ‘Ali. It is (also) said that ‘Ali accepted Islam before him. However, ‘Ali was a child, and the acceptance of Islam by a child, there is disagreement over it (i.e. its validity) among the ‘ulama. Meanwhile, there is no disagreement about the fact that the acceptance of Islam by Abu Bakr was more perfect and more beneficial (than that of ‘Ali).[^3]

He adds:

A child born to two pagan parents is considered a pagan in this world by the consensus of Muslims. If he accepts Islam before maturity, is he considered a Muslim before he reaches maturity? There are two opinions among the ‘ulama, as opposed to the situation of a matured person (who accepts Islam) because he (the matured person) is considered a Muslim by the consensus of Muslims. So, the acceptance of Islam by the three (i.e. Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman) took them out of paganism by the consensus of Muslims. However, the acceptance of Islam by ‘Ali, did it take him out of paganism? There are two well-known opinions. The opinion of (Imam) al-Shafi’i was that the acceptance of Islam by a child does not take him out of paganism.[^4]

Our Shaykh has not explicitly endorsed either of the two opinions. Nonetheless, we will proceed with the assumption that Imam al-Shafi’i was correct.

The first question here is: was ‘Ali really a “child” when he accepted Islam? Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d. 463 H) answers:

Abu ‘Umar said, “It is said that ‘Ali accepted Islam when he was thirteen years old. It is said that he was twelve years old. It is said that he was fifteen years old. It is said that he was sixteen years old. It is said that he was ten years old. It is said that he was eight years old....

Abu Zayd ‘Umar b. Shaybah mentioned that – Surayj b. al-Nu’man – al-Furat b. al-Saib – Maymun b. Mahran – Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both: “Ali b. Abi Talib accepted Islam while he was THIRTEEN YEARS OLD and died when he was sixty-three years old”. Abu ‘Umar, may Allah be merciful to him, said: “This is the most correct opinion on the matter”.[^5]

Therefore, ‘Ali was thirteen years old when he accepted Islam at the hands of the Messenger of Allah. But, was he a matured person then, or was he still a child? Let us get the testimony of an eye-witness. Imam al-Haythami (d. 807 H) records:

Narrated Abu Rafi’:

The first to accept Islam among the male adults was ‘Ali and the first to accept Islam from the female adults was Khadijah.[^6]

Al-Haythami comments:

Al-Bazzar recorded it and its narrators are narrators of the Sahih^7

So, Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali was an “adult” when he accepted Islam. Therefore, his Islam was – in terms of quality - as “perfect” as that of Abu Bakr and the other khalifahs. Moreover, ‘Ali accepted Islam about twenty hours or more before Zayd, Abu Bakr and Khadijah, according to the admission of Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah. Therefore, he enjoyed precedence in his “perfect” Islam over all others. This is further confirmed by this hadith documented by Imam al-Tabarani (d. 360 H):

Al-Hasan b. ‘Abd al-A’la al-Narsi al-Sana’ani – ‘Abd al-Razzaq – Sufyan al-Thawri – Salamah b. Kuhayl – Abu Sadiq – ‘Alim al-Kindi – Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him:

“The first of this Ummah to meet its Prophet (on the Day of Resurrection) will be the first of them to accept Islam, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.”[^8]

Shaykh al-Haji comments:

The chain: Al-Haythami said, “Its narrators are thiqah (trustworthy)”. Hamadi al-Salafi also said: “I say: ‘Ibrahim and al-Hasan are among those narrators who transmitted from ‘Abd al-Razzaq during his confusion.”^9

In simple words, the narrators are all trustworthy indeed. However, al-Hasan narrated from ‘Abd al-Razzaq after the latter’s memory failure and during the consequent confusion. However, the report of ‘Abd al-Razzaq is corroborated by this report, recorded by Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah (d. 235 H):

Mu’awiyah b. Hisham – Qays – Salamah b. Kuhayl – Abu Sadiq – ‘Alim – Salman:

“The first of this Ummah to meet its Prophet (on the Day of Resurrection will be the first of them to accept Islam, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.”[^10]

We already know about the trustworthiness of Salamah, Abu Sadiq and ‘Alim al-Kindi. What about Mu’awiyah and Qays? Al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) states about Mu’awiyah:

Mu’awiyah b. Hisham al-Qasar, Abu al-Hasan al-Kufi, freed slave of Banu Asad, he is also Mu’awiyah b. Abi al-‘Abbas: Saduq (very truthful), he had hallucinations.[^11]

Qays is almost like that too, according to al-Hafiz:

Qays b. al-Rabi’ al-Asadi, Abu Muhamamd al-Kufi: Saduq (very truthful). His memory deteriorated when he became old, and his son told him things that were not part of his (original) ahadith, and he (Qays) narrated them as ahadith.[^12]

Both were very truthful, but with varying memory problems. Nonetheless, their report is a very good shahid for the riwayah of ‘Abd al-Razzaq. As a result, one can safely conclude that the athar of Salman al-Farisi above, narrated by ‘Abd al-Razzaq, is sahih bi shawahidih. Therefore, Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali b. Abi Talib was the first human being, and the first male adult, to accept Islam.

Imam al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 H) records a hadith that further corroborates this submission:

Muhammad b. Bashar and Muhammad b. al-Muthanna – Muhammad b. Ja’far – Shu’bah b. ‘Amr b. Marrah – Abu Hamza, who was a man from the Ansar – Zayd b. Arqam:

“The first to accept Islam was ‘Ali.”[^13]

Al-Tirmidhi states:

This hadith is hasan sahih^14

‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) agrees:

It has a sahih chain^15

Imam al-Tabarani (d. 360 H) also documents:

Ishaq b. Ibrahim – ‘Abd al-Razzaq – Ma’mar – ‘Uthman al-Jazari – Miqsam – ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas:

“The first one to accept Islam was ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.”[^16]

Shaykh al-Haji comments:

A sahih hadith. Its narrators are trustworthy.^17

Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr caps the references:

Salman, Abu Dharr, al-Miqdad, Khabab, Jabir, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and Zayd b. Arqam narrated that ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, was the first to accept Islam, and these people placed him in rank above everyone else.[^18]

Notably, along with Ibn ‘Abbas and Abu Rafi’, those were nine Sahabah. Imam al-Hakim (d. 403 H) records about the tenth Sahabi –Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas:

Narrated Qays b. Abi Hazim:

I was in Madinah. While I was moving around in the market, oil stones arrived. So, I saw some people crowding around a Persian man who was riding an animal and cursing ‘Ali b. Abi Talib. People stood round him when Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas turned and stood in front of them and he asked, “What is this?” They replied, “A man cursing ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.” So, Sa’d moved forward and they made way for him until he stood before him and said, “O you! On what basis do you curse ‘Ali b. Abi Talib? Is he not the first to accept Islam? Is he not the first to perform Salat with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?....”[^19]

Al-Hakim declares:

This hadith has a sahih chain.^20

Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) confirms:

(Sahih) upon the standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim^21

With the above, it can be confidently declared that the reports stating that ‘Ali was the first ever to accept Islam are mutawatir, and therefore absolutely true and undisputable. Moreover, that fact is further corroborated by another mutawatir tradition of the Prophet – Hadith al-‘Ilm – narrated by fourteen of the Sahabah!

Additional evidence that Amir al-Muminin had become an “adult” before he recited the shahadah of Islam lies in the fact that the Prophet performed the congregational prayers with him. He would not do that with a child! The report of Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas is already cited above. Meanwhile, there is corroboration in this hadith documented by Imam al-Tirmidhi:

Muhammad b. Hamid – Ibrahim b. al-Mukhtar – Shu’bah – Abu Balj – ‘Amr b. Maymun – Ibn ‘Abbas:

“The first to perform Salat was ‘Ali.”[^22]

‘Allamah al-Albani says:

Sahih^23

Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 241 H) records a shahid for the above report:

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) – my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) – Yazid b. Harun – Shu’bah – ‘Amr b. Marrah – Abu Hamzah – Zayd b Arqam:

“The first to perform Salat with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was ‘Ali, may Allah the Most High be pleased with him.”[^24]

Quite surprisingly, Shaykh al-Arnauṭ states about it:

Its chain is dha’if^25

As usual, he has given no reason for the weird verdict. So, let us independently verify the strength of that sanad. Is the above report authentic? Or, is it really weak?

Al-Hafiz says about the first narrator:

‘Abd Allah b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman: son of the Imam, thiqah (trustworthy).[^26]

He further states about the second narrator:

Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Hanbal b. Hilal b. Asad al-Shaybani al-Maruzi, a Baghdad resident, Abu ‘Abd Allah: One of the Imams, thiqah (trustworthy), hafiz (a hadith scientist), jurist, hujjah (an authority).[^27]

Concerning the third narrator, the verdict is the same, according to al-Hafiz:

Yazid b. Harun b. Zazan al-Sulami, their freed slave, Abu Khalid al-Wasiṭi: Thiqah (trustworthy), extremely precise, a great worshipper of Allah.[^28]

The fourth narrator, Shu’bah, needs no introduction. Al-Hafiz makes some ground-breaking pronouncements about him nonetheless:

Shu’bah b. al-Hajjaj b. al-Ward al-‘Atki, their freed slave, Abu Busṭam al-Wasiṭi, al-Basri: Thiqah (trustworthy), hafiz (a hadith scientist), extremely precise. Al-Thawri used to say: “He was the amir al-muminin (the supreme leader) in al-Hadith.”[^29]

He has a very simple verdict about the fifth narrator as well:

‘Amr b. Marrah b. ‘Abd Allah b. Tariq al-Jamali al-Muradi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Kufi, the blind person: Thiqah (trustworthy), a great worshipper of Allah. He did NOT do tadlis.[^30]

The last narrator is like that too, as pronounced by al-Hafiz:

Talhah b. Yazid al-Ayli, the freed slave of the Ansar, he lived in Kufah: Al-Nasai declared him thiqah (trustworthy).[^31]

So, all the narrators are thiqah (trustworthy), and there is no evidence of disconnection in the chain. As such, the isnad is sahih without a doubt! ‘Allamah al-Albani also states about another hadith with a very similar sanad:

Abu Dawud recorded it ... through the route of Shu’bah – ‘Amr b. Marrah – Abu Hamzah – Zayd b. Arqam.... I (al-Albani) say: This chain is sahih. Its narrators are narrators of the two Shaykhs apart from Abu Hamzah, and his name is Talhah b. Yazid al-Ansari and he is from the narrators of al-Bukhari. Ibn Hibban and al-Nasai declared him thiqah (trustworthy).[^32]

In conclusion, the chain of Zayd b. Arqam’s report that ‘Ali was the first human being to perform Salat with the Prophet, recorded in Musnad Ahmad, is impeccably sahih. All the narrators are trustworthy, and there is no disconnection in the chain whatsoever. As such, Shaykh al-Arnauṭ’s tadh’if of the sanad has no academic basis.

[^1]: Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad b. ‘Abd al-Halim b. Taymiyyah al-Harrani, Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah (Muasassat Qurtubah; 1st edition, 1406 H) [annotator: Dr. Muhammad Rashad Salim], vol. 5, p. 19

[^2]: Ibid, vol. 7, p. 273

[^3]: Ibid, vol. 7, p. 155

[^4]: Ibid, vol. 8, pp. 285-286

[^5]: Abu ‘Umar Yusuf b. ‘Abd Allah b. Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Barr b. ‘Āsim al-Nimri al-Qurtubi, al-Isti’ab fi Ma’rifat al-Ashab (Beirut: Dar al-Jil; 1st edition, 1412 H) [annotator: ‘Ali Muhammad al-Bajawi], vol. 3, pp. 1093-1095, # 1855

[^6]: Nur al-Din ‘Ali b. Abi Bakr al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawaid (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr; 1412 H), vol. 9, p. 353, # 15258

[^8]: Abu al-Qasim Sulayman b. Ahmad al-Ṭabarani, Kitab al-Awail (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 3rd edition, 1408 H) [annotator: Muhammad Shakur b. Mahmud al-Haji], p. 78, # 51

[^10]: ‘Abd Allah b. Muhammad b. Abi Shaybah Ibrahim b. ‘Uthman b. Abi Bakr b. Abi Shaybah al-Kufi al-‘Ubsi, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah fi al-Ahadith wa al-Athar (Dar al-Fikr; 1st edition, 1409 H) [annotator: Prof. Sa’id al-Laham], vol. 8, p. 350, # 222

[^11]: Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 2, p. 197, # 6795

[^12]: Ibid, vol. 2, p. 33, # 5590

[^13]: Abu ‘Īsa Muhammad b. ‘Īsa al-Sulami al-Tirmidhi, al-Jami’ al-Ṣahih Sunan al-Tirmidhi (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani], vol. 5, p. 642, # 3735

[^16]: Abu al-Qasim Sulayman b. Ahmad al-Ṭabarani, Kitab al-Awail (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 3rd edition, 1408 H) [annotator: Muhammad Shakur b. Mahmud al-Haji], p. 78, # 52

[^18]: Abu ‘Umar Yusuf b. ‘Abd Allah b. Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Barr b. ‘Āsim al-Nimri al-Qurtubi, al-Isti’ab fi Ma’rifat al-Ashab (Beirut: Dar al-Jil; 1st edition, 1412 H) [annotator: ‘Ali Muhammad al-Bajawi], vol. 3, pp. 1090, # 1855

[^19]: Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Ṣahihayn (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1411 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 3, p. 571, # 6121

[^22]: Abu ‘Īsa Muhammad b. ‘Īsa al-Sulami al-Tirmidhi, al-Jami’ al-Ṣahih Sunan al-Tirmidhi (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani], vol. 5, p. 642, # 3734

[^24]: Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 4, p. 368, # 19303

[^26]: Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 1, p. 477, # 3216

[^27]: Ibid, vol. 1, p. 44, # 96

[^28]: Ibid, vol. 2, p. 333, # 7817

[^29]: Ibid, vol. 1, p. 418, # 2798

[^30]: Ibid, vol. 1, p. 745, # 5128

[^31]: Ibid, vol. 1, p. 452, # 3049

[^32]: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Nasir al-Din b. al-Hajj Nuh b. Tajati b. Ādam al-Ashqudri al-Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Ṣahihah wa Shayhun min Fiqhihah wa Fawaidihah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma’arif li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi’; 1st edition, 1415 H), vol. 1, p. 242, # 123